SloppyCalculator/SinFoS huggingface dataset:
Sinhala figure of speech: හුස්මක් නැතුව
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Without a breath
English equivalent: On tiptoe
Meaning: stealthily or silently
Sinhala figure of speech: යස
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Good/Fame
English equivalent: Tiptop
Meaning: the best in quality
Sinhala figure of speech: එකට එක
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: One to one
English equivalent: Tit for tat
Meaning: an equivalent given in return or retaliation
Sinhala figure of speech: ටොක්කට ටොක්ක
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Knock for knock
English equivalent: Tit for tat
Meaning: an equivalent given in return or retaliation
Sinhala figure of speech: ඕපාදූප කථා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Gossip talk
English equivalent: The tittle-tattle
Meaning:  idle chat or gossip
Sinhala figure of speech: නන් දෙඩවීම
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Prattling various things
English equivalent: The tittle-tattle
Meaning: to chatter or gossip
Sinhala figure of speech: නැටිස්සි
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Female dancer (derogatory)
English equivalent: Tomboy
Meaning: a girl who acts or dresses in ways that are traditionally considered to be like a boy
Sinhala figure of speech: මොට්ටයා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Blunt one
English equivalent: Tomnoddy
Meaning: A fool or dunce
Sinhala figure of speech: හැම සිමයියෙක්ම
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Every Simaiya (name)
English equivalent: Every Tom, Dick and Harry
Meaning: used to refer to an ordinary person or all ordinary people
Sinhala figure of speech: සතර මහ නිධානයක්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Four great treasures
English equivalent: Tom Tiddler's ground
Meaning: a place (as a no-man's-land) where pickings may be sought or had without effective interference
Sinhala figure of speech: රුවන් ආකරයක්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Gem mine
English equivalent: Tom Tiddler's ground
Meaning: a place (as a no-man's-land) where pickings may be sought or had without effective interference
Sinhala figure of speech: කටේ අගුල් වැටිලා මෙන්
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like locks fell on the mouth
English equivalent: Tongue-tied
Meaning: having difficulty in speaking, usually because of being nervous
Sinhala figure of speech: පැණි රස දිව
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Sweet taste tongue
English equivalent: Have a sweet tooth
Meaning: a strong liking for sweet foods
Sinhala figure of speech: දත් මිටි කාගන
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Biting jaw-fists (grinding teeth)
English equivalent: Tooth and nail
Meaning: to try very hard to get something you want
Sinhala figure of speech: කේශාන්තයේ සිට පාදාන්තය දක්වා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: From hair-end to foot-end
English equivalent: From top to toe
Meaning: all over
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉස් මුදුනේ සිට පතුලට
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: From head top to sole
English equivalent: From top to toe
Meaning: all over
Sinhala figure of speech: හිතේ මනාපෙට
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: To the mind's preference
English equivalent: To the top of one's bent
Meaning: to the limit of one's capacity or ability
Sinhala figure of speech: මුදුන් පෙත්ත
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Top slice/surface
English equivalent: Top of the tree
Meaning: the highest level of a profession or career
Sinhala figure of speech: උඩු බැලි
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Looking up (supine)
English equivalent: Topsyturvy
Meaning: confused, not well organized, or giving importance to unexpected things
Sinhala figure of speech: අවුල් වියවුල් වී
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Become tangled and confused
English equivalent: Topsyturvy
Meaning: confused, not well organized, or giving importance to unexpected things
Sinhala figure of speech: කණ පිට පෙරළී
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Turned ear-side out (Inside out)
English equivalent: Topsyturvy
Meaning: confused, not well organized, or giving importance to unexpected things
Sinhala figure of speech: අවදානම් සහිත
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: With danger
English equivalent: Touch-and-go
Meaning: having an uncertain, and possibly bad result
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇස්වහක් කටවහක් නෙවෙද්දෙන්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Let it not be an evil eye or evil mouth
English equivalent: Touch wood
Meaning: said in order to avoid bad luck, either when you mention good luck that you have had in the past or when you mention hopes you have for the future
Sinhala figure of speech: බල කණුව
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Power pillar
English equivalent: Tower of strength
Meaning: someone or something that remains strong and gives a lot of support in a difficult situation
Sinhala figure of speech: මංතල
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Road planes
English equivalent: Beaten track
Meaning: An unusual route or destination
Sinhala figure of speech: යන්නන් වාලේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Because goers go
English equivalent: Beaten track
Meaning: An unusual route or destination
Sinhala figure of speech: අත්තක් හිටවනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Planting a branch
English equivalent: Trail one's coat tails
Sinhala figure of speech: ගරු බුහුමන් දක්වනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Showing honor and respect
English equivalent: Pay tribute
Meaning: to praise someone or something
Sinhala figure of speech: ටක් ගාලා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: With a "Tak" sound
English equivalent: In a trice
Meaning: in a very short time
Sinhala figure of speech: මහදැනමුත්තා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: The Great Wise Elder (Folklore character)
English equivalent: Triton of (or among) the minnows
Meaning: an important person who appears great only because of the insignificance of those around them
Sinhala figure of speech: මහා කෙරුම්කාරයා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: The big doer
English equivalent: Triton of (or among) the minnows
Meaning: an important person who appears great only because of the insignificance of those around them
Sinhala figure of speech: ලූලා නැති චළේ කණයා පණඩිතයාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In the pit without the Lula fish, the Kanaya fish is the pundit
English equivalent: *Triton of (or among) the minnows
Meaning: an important person who appears great only because of the insignificance of those around them
Sinhala figure of speech: ගස් නැති රටේ එඩරු ගසත් ගසක් ල
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In a country without trees, the castor plant is a tree
English equivalent: *Triton of (or among) the minnows
Meaning: an important person who appears great only because of the insignificance of those around them
Sinhala figure of speech: විහින් අමාරුවේ වැටෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Falling into difficulty by oneself
English equivalent: Ask for trouble
Meaning: act in a way that is likely to incur problems or difficulties
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔයින් නවත්තමු
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Let's stop from there
English equivalent: A truce to
Meaning: an agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting or arguing for a certain time
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇති ඇති
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Enough enough
English equivalent: A truce to
Meaning: an agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting or arguing for a certain time
Sinhala figure of speech: තමන්ගේ බෙරේ ගහගන්නවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Playing one's own drum
English equivalent: Blow one's own trumpet
Meaning: talk boastfully about one's achievements
Sinhala figure of speech: කාහළ නාදයෙන්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: With trumpet sound
English equivalent: With a flourish of trumpets
Meaning: A musical fanfare
Sinhala figure of speech: ගාල ගෝට්ටියක් කර
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Making an uproar
English equivalent: With a flourish of trumpets
Meaning: A musical fanfare
Sinhala figure of speech: රට පෙරළා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Overturning the country
English equivalent: With a flourish of trumpets
Meaning: A musical fanfare
Sinhala figure of speech: ජය ඝෝෂා පවත්වා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Conducting victory cheers
English equivalent: With a flourish of trumpets
Meaning: A musical fanfare
Sinhala figure of speech: සත්තක ඇත්ත
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Certain truth
English equivalent: The naked truth
Meaning: the complete, unvarnished, and unembellished facts of a situation, without any concealment, pretense, or attempt to "dress it up" or make it more palatable
Sinhala figure of speech: කරලා බලනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Do and look
English equivalent: Try one's hand at
Meaning: to try doing something for the first time
Sinhala figure of speech: කැසපට ගහනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Tucking the loincloth
English equivalent: Tuck up
Meaning: to make secure in bed by tucking the edges of sheets, blankets, etc. under the mattress
Sinhala figure of speech: කඹ ඇදිල්ල
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Rope pulling
English equivalent: Tug-of-war
Meaning: a contest in which two teams pull at opposite ends of a rope until one drags the other over a central line
Sinhala figure of speech: අං ඇදිල්ල
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Horn pulling
English equivalent: Tug-of-war
Meaning: a contest in which two teams pull at opposite ends of a rope until one drags the other over a central line
Sinhala figure of speech: කුට්ටු දෙකේ වැඩක්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Work of two joints/pice
English equivalent: A tuppenny-ha'penny affair
Meaning: a very small problem
Sinhala figure of speech: දුම්කොළ නැට්ටක්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Tobacco leaf stalk
English equivalent: A tuppenny-ha'penny affair
Meaning: a very small problem
Sinhala figure of speech: කවුදැයි කවුදැයි රණ්ඩු කරන්නේ 
නැන්දයි මාමයි රණ්ඩු කරන්නේ 
මොකටද මොකටද රණ්ඩු කරන්නේ 
දුම්කොළ නැට්ටට රණ්ඩු කරන්නේ
Type: [කියමන්]
Literal translation: "Who is fighting? Aunt and Uncle... for a tobacco stalk"
English equivalent: A tuppenny-ha'penny affair
Meaning: Uncle and aunt are arguing over a small problem
Sinhala figure of speech:  හරවනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Turning
English equivalent: Turn into
Meaning: To change and become someone or something different
Sinhala figure of speech: පිටුපා යනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Showing back and going
English equivalent: Turn one's back on
Meaning:  Reject, deny
Sinhala figure of speech: වංගුවෙන් එහාට වෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Getting beyond the bend
English equivalent: Turn the corner
Meaning: pass the critical point and start to improve
Sinhala figure of speech: කඩුල්ලෙන් පැන ගන්නවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Jumping over the stile
English equivalent: Turn the corner
Meaning:  To get past the most difficult area or period in something and begin to improve
Sinhala figure of speech: උඩුපැල්ලෙන් පෙරළෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Falling on the back (Udubellen)
English equivalent: Turn turtle
Meaning: turn upside down
Sinhala figure of speech: හොස්ස උල්කරනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Pointing the chin/snout
English equivalent: Turn up one's nose at
Meaning: show distaste or contempt for
Sinhala figure of speech: නිකට හරවනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Turning the chin
English equivalent: Turn up one's nose at
Meaning: show distaste or contempt for
Sinhala figure of speech: හැරෙන තැන
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: The turning place
English equivalent: Turn of the tide
Meaning: A reversal of fortune
Sinhala figure of speech: රයිගමයයි ගම්පලයයි
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Raigamaya and Gampalaya
English equivalent: *Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Meaning: Two individuals or groups that are practically indistinguishable
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඟිලි ගණන් කරනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Counting fingers
English equivalent: Twiddle one's thumbs
Meaning: Do nothing
Sinhala figure of speech: නිමේෂයකින්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: In a moment
English equivalent: In a twinkling
Meaning: In a very short time
Sinhala figure of speech: අසුරු සනකින්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: With a finger snap
English equivalent: In a twinkling
Meaning: Very quickly
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇසිල්ලෙකින්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: In a blink
English equivalent: In two twos
Meaning: in a very short time or suddenly
Sinhala figure of speech: බේරුමකට පැමිණෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Arriving at a settlement
English equivalent: Come to an understanding
Meaning:  To agree about something
Sinhala figure of speech: යකුන් ගස් යන වේලාවේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: The time devils climb trees
English equivalent: Ungodly hour
Meaning: A time of day that is unreasonably early or late
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉහින් කනින්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: From head and ears
English equivalent: Up to the hilt
Meaning: to the maximum extent
Sinhala figure of speech: මොකක් නුමුත් මගඩියක් කරන්ට හිතන
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Thinking of doing some fraud
English equivalent: Up to something
Meaning: To allow (oneself) to be fully affected by, controlled by, or involved in (something)
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔබේ වැඩේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Your work
English equivalent: Up to you
Meaning: you are the one who gets to make the decision
Sinhala figure of speech: කිරි මාමගෙ දුව දුන්නා
දෑවැද්දට ගේ දුන්නා 
දෑවැද්දට ගේ දුන් කල
කිරි මාමට ගස්  
Type: [කියමන්]
Literal translation: Gave the Milky Uncle's (maternal uncle) daughter
Gave the house for the dowry
When the house was given for dowry
Trees for the Milky Uncle
English equivalent: Up a gum tree
Meaning: In a very difficult situation
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉස්සරහ පෙළේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: In the front row
English equivalent: Up stage
Meaning: Pretentious, showing off, or acting superior
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉහළ ගොහින්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Gone up
English equivalent: Up stage
Meaning: Pretentious, showing off, or acting superior
Sinhala figure of speech: යස අයස
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Fame and Disgrace
English equivalent: Ups and downs
Meaning: Alternating rise and fall especially in fortune
Sinhala figure of speech: සැප දුක
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Comfort and Sorrow
English equivalent: Ups and downs
Meaning: If someone or something experiences ups and downs, a mixture of good and bad things happens to him, her, or it
Sinhala figure of speech: හොඳ කාලයත් නරක කාලයත්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Good time and bad time
English equivalent: Ups and downs
Meaning: Alternating rise and fall especially in fortune
Sinhala figure of speech: නිස්කාරණේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Without reason
English equivalent: In vain
Meaning: To no end : without success or result
Sinhala figure of speech: නුවණක්කාරකම
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Wisdom-ness
English equivalent: The better part of valour
Meaning: The wiser or safer part of courage
Sinhala figure of speech: හැම විජ්ජාවටම වඩා ගැළවිජ්ජාව හොඳ ලූ
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is said saving-magic is better than all magic
English equivalent: *The better part of valour
Meaning: Said when you believe it is wise to be careful and avoid unnecessary risks
Sinhala figure of speech: ගණනක් කියනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Saying a number
English equivalent: Set a value on
Meaning: to assign a specific, fixed quantity, characteristic, or number to something, like a variable, a setting, or an item
Sinhala figure of speech: නොරොක් වෙලා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Become grumpy/sour
English equivalent: At variance
Meaning: Not in harmony or agreement
Sinhala figure of speech: පොලිත් එක්ක
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: With interest
English equivalent: With a vengeance
Meaning: To an extreme or excessive degree
Sinhala figure of speech: ආ ඇටියට
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: To the way it came
English equivalent: At a venture
Meaning: At random
Sinhala figure of speech: අරූපි ස්ත්‍රියගේ පතිව්‍රතාව වාගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the chastity of a formless woman
English equivalent: Make a virtue of necessity
Meaning: To benefit from something that one is forced to do
Sinhala figure of speech: ගිරිය යටින්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: From under the throat/jugular
English equivalent: At the top of one's voice
Meaning: As loudly as one can
Sinhala figure of speech: කාත් කවුරුනුත් නැති ළමයි
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Children with no who or whom
English equivalent: Walfs and strays
Meaning: children with no homes
Sinhala figure of speech: සාත්තු සප්පායම් කරනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Nursing and feeding
English equivalent: Wait upon
Meaning: To serve a customer or patron
Sinhala figure of speech: පසුපස්සෙන්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: From behind
English equivalent: In the wake
Meaning: following as a consequence
Sinhala figure of speech: පාරේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: On the road
English equivalent: In the wake
Meaning: following as a consequence
Sinhala figure of speech: දත්මිටිකාගන සටන් කරනවා
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රකාශන]
Literal translation: Fighting biting jaw-fists
English equivalent: Fight with one's back to the wall
Meaning: to be in a very difficult, desperate situation with no easy way to escape, forcing one to fight or resist with all available strength and determination to avoid complete defeat
Sinhala figure of speech: පස්ස නොබලා සටන් කරනවා
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රකාශන]
Literal translation: Fighting without looking back
English equivalent: Fight with one's back to the wall
Meaning: to be in a very difficult, desperate situation with no easy way to escape, forcing one to fight or resist with all available strength and determination to avoid complete defeat
Sinhala figure of speech: අයට වැටෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Falling to the "Aya" (Income side)
English equivalent: Go to the wall
Meaning: To be destroyed or fail
Sinhala figure of speech: අව පක්ෂයට යන
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Going to the waning side (moon)
English equivalent: On the wane
Meaning: Becoming smaller or less
Sinhala figure of speech: බහින කලාවේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: In the descending art/time
English equivalent: On the wane
Meaning: Becoming smaller or less
Sinhala figure of speech: ගිනි දෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Giving fire
English equivalent: Make things warm for
Meaning: to cause a lot of problems for someone and make them very unhappy
Sinhala figure of speech: පාර වැදෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: The blow hits
English equivalent: Get a warming
Meaning: Receiving a punishment
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙරිමස් කරේ බැඳගෙන කනවා
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රකාශන]
Literal translation: Eating beef tying it around the neck
English equivalent: Wash dirty linen in public
Meaning: to discuss private, sensitive, or embarrassing matters openly with other people, rather than keeping them private
Sinhala figure of speech: අත සෝදා ගන්නවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Washing the hands
English equivalent: Wash one's hands of
Meaning: to refuse to have anything more to do with someone or something
Sinhala figure of speech: දියාරු වැඩක්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: A watery work
English equivalent: Wash-out
Meaning: A complete failure
Sinhala figure of speech: හේදිලා යැමත්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Washing away too
English equivalent: Wash-out
Meaning: One that fails to measure up
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉස්තරම්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Top quality
English equivalent: Of the first water
Meaning: Of the finest quality
Sinhala figure of speech: පළමුවැනි පෙළේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Of the first row
English equivalent: Of the first water
Meaning: Of the finest quality
Sinhala figure of speech: කටට කෙළ උනවනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Saliva springing to the mouth
English equivalent: Make one's mouth water
Meaning: If the smell or sight of food makes your mouth water, it makes you want to eat it
Sinhala figure of speech: හරස් කපනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Cutting across
English equivalent: Be in the way
Meaning: forming an obstacle or hindrance to movement or action
Sinhala figure of speech: කොන්ද පණ නැති
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Backbone without life
English equivalent: Weak-kneed
Meaning: Lacking willpower or resolution
Sinhala figure of speech: හෙම්බත් වෙනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Drooping/Withered
English equivalent: Wear out
Meaning: Tire, exhaust
Sinhala figure of speech: හොඳට හංගැහී
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Well branded/stamped
English equivalent: The worse for wear
Meaning: In worse condition after doing or experiencing something
Sinhala figure of speech: උකුසු ඇසින් බලනවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Looking with hawk eye
English equivalent: Keep the weather eye open
Meaning: To always be paying attention so that you notice if anything happens
Sinhala figure of speech: පදේ පුරන අවස්ථාව
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Occasion filling the verse
English equivalent: The thin end of the wedge
Meaning: The beginning of something that will become more serious, unpleasant
Sinhala figure of speech: බහුඟැත
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: (Likely "බහුශ්‍රැත") Much heard
English equivalent: Well-informed
Meaning: Thoroughly knowledgeable in a particular subject
Sinhala figure of speech: හැඩිදැඩි
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Rough/Sturdy
English equivalent: Well-set
Meaning: Strongly built
Sinhala figure of speech: කාරණාකාරණ දන්නවා.
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Knowing facts and matters
English equivalent: Know what's what
Meaning: If you know what's what, you have a lot of experience and can judge people and situations well
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්තර්ජටා බහිජිටා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Tangle inside, tangle outside
English equivalent: Wheels within wheels
Meaning: A situation that is complex and difficult to deal with because it involves many different things
Sinhala figure of speech: උඩ බලා ඉන්නවා 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Looking up
English equivalent: Whistle for
Meaning: it will be very difficult or almost impossible
Sinhala figure of speech: උගුර තෙමාගන්නවා
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Wetting the throat
English equivalent: Wet one's whistle
Meaning: Consisting of, containing, covered with, or soaked with liquid
Sinhala figure of speech: අකලට පලගත් ගෙඩිය වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like an unseasonable fruit
Meaning: Something good happening at a time without any expectations
Sinhala figure of speech: කුල මල නැති වෙන්නට බෙහෙතකි වී කාසි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Paddy and money are a preventive remedy against abuse
Sinhala figure of speech: රස ලෙස කීමට වඩා යස ලෙස කිරීම හොඳලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Better to act well than to speak sweetly
Meaning: Better to act well than to speak sweetly
Sinhala figure of speech: අති රස තිත්ත රසයි , පැමිණි දුක් පැණි රසයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Sweet cakes are bitter, but sweet are misfortunes.
Meaning: When a sadness comes, rather than spending time regretting it, try to see the good side of it, even if it is bad, and get through that period of sadness without thinking badly about it.
Sinhala figure of speech: දුසිරිත දනන් දෙන ඔවා වැද්දන් කියන බණ වැනි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Advice by the unlearned is like “ Bana ” preach
Meaning: Advice from ignorant or bad people is hypocritical, inconsistent, or meaningless—because their actions don’t align with their words.
Sinhala figure of speech: ලීයේ ඇඳෙ  සහින වෑයත් ඇද සහිතයිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The adze which straightens timber is itself not quite straight,
Meaning: guidance or correction may come even from those who are themselves imperfect or morally crooked
Sinhala figure of speech: වැඩිසෙනේ දබරෙටයි,තද සුලං වැස්සටයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Overmuch affection means a quarrel, a strong wind means rain.
Meaning: Familiarity breeds contempt
Sinhala figure of speech: උගුර ඉඳිකටුව, බඩ අම්බලම 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: His throat is a needle, hut his stomach an “ ambalama.”
Meaning: A person who is small in size but enjoys eating
Sinhala figure of speech: අම්බලම කැඩුණට ගව්ව කෙටි වෙන්නේ නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: The “ gavva ” does not become short because the “ ambalama ” is broken down.
Meaning: The truth (or the real measure of things) does not change just because the supports are broken.
Sinhala figure of speech: තණ්හාවෙන් ඇන්නැ හැපෙනවලු  
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Ambition begets vexation.
Meaning: Ambition and desire inevitably lead to trouble.
Sinhala figure of speech: අමු කළ කෙනෙක් අමු ගෙනියත් , වී කළ කෙනෙක් වී ගෙනියත්  
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: He who sows “ amu ” will reap “ amu,” he who sows paddy will reap paddy.
Meaning: Whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap
Sinhala figure of speech: අමුවට ඉස්සරවෙලා කාවලු පූදිනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: “ Kavalu ” blossom before “ amu. ”
Meaning: Worthless things ripen sooner than valuable ones
Sinhala figure of speech: වලවේ ගඟ හත්ගවුවක් තියා අමුඩේ ගැහුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like tying the “ amude ” when the Valave-ganga is still seven “ gavvas ” away.
Sinhala figure of speech: මුව දඩයමට යන්නේ ආනම් කන්ටම යැයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Does one go a deer-hunting only to eat “ anam ” ?
Meaning: Why make a big effort for such a small gain?
Sinhala figure of speech: ආඬි කැද ඉව්වා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: As the “ Andiyas ” cooked congee
Meaning: If everyone shirks their duty thinking others will take care of it, nothing gets done — and all end up losing.
Sinhala figure of speech: දහට උදහස් නැතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Anger evaporates against a thousand men
Meaning: Numbers have an overawing effect.
Sinhala figure of speech: පැණි හැලියේ වැටිච්ච ඇඹලයා වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the ant which fell into a pot of honey
Meaning: To be very passionate about something
Sinhala figure of speech: දිමියා එල්ලෙන්නේ හපන්කමටයැ, බැරි නමුත් වේගෙට වද  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: The red-ant clings to you, not through bravado, but, however helpless, through the impulse of anger.
Meaning: Even the weak, like the red ant, will attack fiercely when provoked — not from bravery, but from anger.
Sinhala figure of speech: කබල්ලෑවගේ පණ තියෙන්නේ ඔලුවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The ant-eater’s life is in its head.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉත්තෑවගේ ගුලේ කබල්ලෑව වැදී "මුත්තාපා කීවත් යන්නේ නෑ" කිව්වාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: The ant-eater, who forcibly occupied the porcupine’s hole, swore by his forbears that he would never leave it.
English equivalent: Possession is nine-tenths of the law
Meaning: Taking possession of other people's property through deceit
Context: In a certain forest, a porcupine lived inside a cave. One day, an anteater, who had lost his way while traveling, came across this cave and asked the porcupine if he could stay there for shelter. The porcupine kindly agreed and allowed the anteater to stay inside.However, the next morning, the anteater showed no sign of leaving. Since the cave was too small for both of them to live together, the porcupine politely requested the anteater to leave. “If you don’t like it, then you can go and find another place. I’m quite comfortable here,” the anteater replied. Angered, the porcupine raised his sharp quills and attacked the anteater. But the anteater’s body was covered in thick, coarse hide, so the porcupine’s blows had no effect. The anteater remained in the cave, while the porcupine was forced to leave and find another shelter.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගිරේට අසුවුණ පුවක්ගෙඩිය වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the arecanut caught in the cutter.
Meaning: There is no escape, no freedom.
Sinhala figure of speech: ලිපේ අළු ගාගන්නට ආඬියාගේ අවසර මොටද? 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Do you need an Andiya’s permission to rub yourself with ash from your own fireplace ?
Meaning: You don’t need anyone’s permission to make use of what already belongs to you
Sinhala figure of speech: අතර මැදදි අත්වැල කැඩුණා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the snapping of the “ at-vela ” when midway on the “ atura. ”
Meaning: A helpful thing disappearing at the time it is needed
Sinhala figure of speech: කුඩම්මත් ඇවිත් කැවුම් පුංචි කළා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Smaller “ kevum ” despite even Auntie’s arrival.
Meaning: Things turned out worse when we expected them to be better.
Context: This was said by some children when their Aunt (mother’s younger sister), whilst assisting their mother in making kevum, made smaller ones than usual. They naturally expected that, with the arrival of so near and dear a relation, they would have a better time, at least in the matter of eatables.
Sinhala figure of speech: පොරව කප්පර එද්දී "අපව නහන්නට අපෙන් එකෙක් ඕනැයි " කියා බැද්ද කෑගැසුවාලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When the axe-heads were coming by ship, the forest cried out : “ One of ourselves is required to bring about our own destruction.”
Meaning: Betrayal from within enables one’s downfall.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉක්මන් වැඩ බාර ගත්තයි කියා බඩාලාට පියා ගැහුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the “ Badala’s ” father thrashing his son for taking up urgent work.
Context:  A certain woman ordered a pair of earrings for her little daughter to be used on the day of her weaning. The silversmith having failed to give it on the day. Somehow, she made him promise that he would give it on the day that her granddaughter would be weaned. The silversmith's father on hearing of the promise his son, gave him a thrashing
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙවලාත් මල්ලේ මීයෝ දැම්මා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like rats being put in the “ malla ” even after paying for it.
Context: A man asked a neighbour for, but was refused the loan of, a malla (a bag made of anything but cloth) to take to the market. He then paid for it and, on taking it away, discovered some rats inside.
Sinhala figure of speech: උපන් ගෙයි ගතිය බලි ඇරියත් අරින්ට බැරිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: One’s inborn perversity cannot be cured even by a “ Bali ’’ ceremony.
Meaning: What is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔය බලියට ඔය කට ඇති 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Such a mouth is good enough for such a “ Baliya.”
Meaning: What they say or do is typical of who they are.
Sinhala figure of speech: පොල්පිති බලියට ඉස්කුරුප්පු තද කළා  වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like tightening screws on a “ pol-piti baliya.”
Context: Pol-pitta is the stem of a coconut branch
Sinhala figure of speech: තැබෑරුම් කාරයාගේ මල් බලිය උස්සන්ට මිනිස්සු හැටදෙනෙක් ආවා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: There came sixty men to lift up the “ mal-baliya” of a tavernkeeper.
Meaning:  iI is the tavern-keeper who has lots friends in the village
Context:  When there were sixty men assembled to raise a tavern keeper's Malbalia, another man came up running to the tavern-keeper and said, "Ala! renter you have done wrong in not having informed me about this in time." - Malbaliya, a flower offering to the Planets as a sacrifice. A Malbaliya can be raised by one or two men
Sinhala figure of speech: ගමට අවලමත් ගහට ඇහැටුවත් විනාශයලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The bane of the village is the vagabond, and that of the tree is the parasite.
Sinhala figure of speech: නිවට ඇම්බැට්ටයාට එළුවත්  නිකට පානවලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: To the lowly barber, even the goat Offers its chin to shave
Meaning: Everyone troubles the innocent
Sinhala figure of speech: වවුලාගේ ගෙට ආ වවුලත් එල්ලී සිටින්ට ඕනෑලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The bat visiting another bat’s abode must also remain suspended.
Meaning: When visiting a foreign land, follow the customs of local people
Sinhala figure of speech: වලහට ඉස්සරවෙලා කොටියා පන්නා වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the tiger juniping before the bear.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇණලා බැන්දත් බැඳලා ඇන්නත් දෙකම එකයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is the same whether you tie and beat him or beat and tie him.
Meaning: It is impossible to decide between two options because they're equal
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙරි මස් කතත් කරේ එල්ලාගන කන්ට ඕනෑද? 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: If you must eat beef, need you keep it dangling round your neck (while eating) ?
Meaning: To openly display or make known one's belief, value, emotion, or sentiment. Wash (one's) dirty laundry in public. To discuss very private, personal matters, especially that which may be embarrassing, in public or with other people.
Sinhala figure of speech: මීයක්‌ කැඩූ කෙනෙක් අත ලෙවකත් ලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: He who breaks a bee-hive will lick his hand
Meaning: Letting not even a small amount of a very valuable thing go to waste
Sinhala figure of speech: මීයක්‌ කඩන්නේ අත ලෙවකන්ටද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Is it to lick your hand that you break a bee-hive ?
Meaning: One doesn't do something with no benefit and one does something for their own benefit
Sinhala figure of speech: මීයට පිම්බා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like blowing on a bee hive
Meaning: To provoke unnecessary trouble or chaos by interfering with something dangerous or sensitive
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලාගේ පිටි පස්සේ බැන්ද මීය වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a bee-hive built (by the bees) on a dog’s fundament.
Meaning: A good thing in a bad place
Sinhala figure of speech: හිඟාන්නාගේ පාත්‍රෙ හෙනහුරා වැටුනා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Saturn falling into the bowl of the beggar.
Meaning:  While suffering, another disaster strikes.
Sinhala figure of speech: හිඟාන්නන්ට මොන උණු බත්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What hot rice for beggars ?
Meaning: People who depend on the generosity of others can’t pick and choose things as per their liking. They’ve to accept what is given to them
Sinhala figure of speech: පාවෙන පාවෙන කුණු බේරුවල් බොක්කටලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Whatever rubbish floats goes into the Beruvala “ bokka.”
Meaning: When everyone's mistakes are blamed on one person
Sinhala figure of speech: පල ඇති ගහේ කොයි සතත් වහනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Every kind of bird will resort to a fruitful tree,
Meaning: Everyone will flock to you in good times
Sinhala figure of speech: මිටේ උන් කුරුල්ලා ඇරලා ගහේ උන් කුරුල්ලා ඇල්ලීමට ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like letting off the bird in your clutch and trying to catch the one on the tree.
Meaning: Things we already have are more valuable than what we hope to ge
Sinhala figure of speech: ලංකාවේ උපන් හැමෝම රාවණාලද ?
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Are all that are born in Ceylon RavanAs ?
Meaning: Birthplace alone doesn’t guarantee greatness, strength, or special qualities
Sinhala figure of speech: තැලෙන යකඩේ දදුටුවාම ආචාරියා උඩ පැන පැන තළනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When the blacksmith finds a malleable iron, leaping he brings his hammer down.
Meaning: The more one yields, the harder one is beaten
Sinhala figure of speech: කණා ගහන ගල වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the stone flung by a blind man.
Meaning: A random or aimless act with an uncertain result
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්ධයාට මොන පහන් එළියද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What is the use of lamp-light to the blind man ?
Meaning: Something is useless or wasted when given to one who cannot benefit from it
Sinhala figure of speech: වල් ඌරො කැකුන තළන විට හබන් කුකුලන්ට මගුල්ලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When wild-boars start smashing “ Kekuna ” fruits, it is feast time for “ haban-kukulo.”
Meaning: One’s loss is another’s gain
Context: The Kekuna (Canarium Zeylanicum, Tamil: Pakkilipal) is a tree peculiar to Ceylon. The haban (saban)-kukula is the Ceylon spurfowl (Galloperdix bicalcarata), which relishes the kekuna fruit more than perhaps any other. An oil extracted from the kernel of this tree is used by poorer classes of the Sinhalese as lamp oil and is occasionally used in the preparation of medicinal oils.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇණයෙන් ගියත් අවරෙන් ගියත් දෙකම එකලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It’s all the same whether the prow goes foremost or the stern.
Meaning: It is fine regardless of what happens
Context: The front part of a boat, ferry, etc. is called the "ඇණිය". The back part of the boat is called the "අවර".
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔරුව පෙරලුණම ඒ පිටට වඩා මේ පිට හොඳයි කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: Like saying, when the boat is upset, that the wrong side is better than uhe other.
Meaning: To praise or justify a bad or failed situation as if it is better than the good one
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔරුවට ලොකු කොල්ලෑව වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the outrigger that is bigger than the boat
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඟෙන් ඇටයක් ගියා වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a bone going out of one’s body.
Meaning: To give something very reluctantly
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙදර මහ පොතක් ඇත එකක්වත් මතක නැත
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: You have a big book at home, but you cannot recollect any¬ thing.
Sinhala figure of speech: උකුල් ඇටේ කොරේට බුකුල් ඇන්නාට සුවවේද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can boxing cure a dislocated hip-bone ?
Sinhala figure of speech: කළු බමුණත් සුදු පරයත් විශ්වාසකරන්න එපා 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Never trust a black Brahman or a white Pariah.
Meaning: Beware of the unusual—it may not be what it seems.
Context: A Brahmin is a one belonging to the highest caste in Northern India and is, as a rule, fair complexioned. A black Brahmin would, therefore, be something in the nature of a prodigy—to be avoided. Similarly, the Pariah, a man of the lowest caste—is usually black in colour. When you find a white specimen of that caste, he is one to be shunned
Sinhala figure of speech: හෙට බඳින්ට  ඉන්න මනමාළිගේ කථාව වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the remark of the morrow’s bride
Context: A Sinhalese maid was watching the busy building operations by the side of her house, and a passer-by asked her “Why are these sheds and pavilions being put up? ,” “I don’t know,” she replied, “they say it’s for a wedding.” “Whose wedding?” the man again enquired. “I don’t know,” she coyly replied, “they say it’s mine.”
Sinhala figure of speech: පාලම ගහගෙන ගියාට තොටුපොළත් ගහගෙන යාද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න] 
Literal translation: Although the bridge be washed away, will the ferry go, too ?
Meaning: It is human nature always to find fresh cause for optimism
Sinhala figure of speech: අට වම්බොටු නව හුංගං දුන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Eight brinjals, but nine taxes.
Meaning: Having to spend more than the value of something to get permission for it
Context: A certain man took eight brinjals for sale to a village where there were nine headmen. He returned home emptyhanded and in utter disappointment as he had to give eight of the headmen a brinjal a piece and to the ninth his basket in or her to obtain permission to enter the village
Sinhala figure of speech: අබුද්දස්ස කාලෙට ලබුත් තිත්තයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the “ labu-gediya ” becomes bitter in a Buddha-less era.
Meaning: Things that happen when injustice reigns
Sinhala figure of speech: බුදුන්ගේ පාත්‍රය බින්දා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like breaking Buddha’s bowl
Meaning: A very heinous offence, almost a sacrilege
Sinhala figure of speech: බුදුන් වැඳගෙන එන ගමන් කෙමනත් බලාගත්තා වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like examining the “ Kemana ” when returning after worshipping Buddha
Meaning: Doing an irreligious act when upon a pious journey
Context: Kemana is a peculiar kind of basket placed in streams for catching fish. Buddhism forbids the destruction of life, and fishing is a form of it
Sinhala figure of speech: බුදු වෙනකොටම මාර යුද්ධයත් පටන් ගත්තා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like the “ Mara-Yuddhaya ” synchronising with the attainment of Buddhahood
Context: Mara- Yuddhaya is the “war with Maraya” the chief of demons, the enemy and opposer of the Buddha. On the day of Gautama’s attainment to Buddhahood, Maraya attacked him with an innumerable host of the fiercest demons, all of whom exited the most infernal rage against him and the most determined opposition to his assuming the sacred character. The Buddha, however, speedily vanquished the whole
Sinhala figure of speech: කීවොත් සඟ නසී, නොකිවොත් වෙහෙර නසී.
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: Disclosure will ruin the priest, and reticence will ruin the Vihara
Context: This is supposed to have been said by a person who saw a Buddhist Priest eating a Vihara made of flour offered to Buddha. Vihara is a Buddhist temple. The reference is to some scandal about the incumbent priest
Sinhala figure of speech: එක පන්සලේ ඉන්න මහණුන්නාන්සේලාත් කුඩ මිටි හරවා ගන්නවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even Priests who reside in the same Temple come to loggerheads
Sinhala figure of speech: සීරළුවෙක්, මහණව සිටි කාලේ හිඟේටත් එක්ක, හිර දෙයක් ගෙනාවලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The ex-priest atoned, as it were, for his previous celibacy by taking two wives.
Meaning: When freed from restraint, some people overindulge to make up for what they were denied earlier
Context: Celibacy is enjoined upon the Buddhist priesthood
Sinhala figure of speech: සඟුන්ගේ බස් හිරළුවන්ට දැනෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The language used by the “ Sangha ” is easily understood by ex-priests.
Meaning: Only those who have belonged to a group can fully understand its language, behavior, or inner workings.
Sinhala figure of speech: වරද්ද වරද්දා අහන බණට වඩා නොවරද්දා නින්ද හොඳලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Uninterrupted sleep is better than interrupted “ Bana ” hearing.
Context: Bana is the Buddhist scripture, a discourse on which should be listened to attentively and with devotion
Sinhala figure of speech: දඩ මීමාගේ මුවාවෙන් සතුන් මරන්නාක් මෙනි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like killing animals behind the cover of a decoy buffalo.
Sinhala figure of speech: කණ මීදෙනගේ තෙල් ඇගේ ඇස් රෝගෙටත් මදිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The ghee from (the milk of) a blind she-buffalo is insufficient for even her own eye disorder.
Sinhala figure of speech: හොර හරකාගේ කරේ ඈදු හොඳ හරකත් හොරා වෙනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: A good bull yoked with a bad one will also become bad
Sinhala figure of speech: කුළාට අණිතොත් මඩේදීලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: A wild bull should be beaten only in the mud.
Meaning: Attack or act when the opponent is least able to resist
Sinhala figure of speech: ගහෙන් වැටුන මිනිහට ගොනා ඇන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a bull butting a man who lies fallen from a tree.
Meaning: Getting into more trouble when you're already in trouble
Sinhala figure of speech: ගොනා පිට හකුරු පටවන්නා වගෙයි.
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like loading a bull with jaggery.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගොනාට ඉස්සරවෙලා කරත්තේ දුවනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the cart running before the bull.
Sinhala figure of speech: මී හරකාගේ කරේ එළ හරකා ඈඳුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like yoking a bullock with a buffalo.
Meaning: Mating an ill-assorted pair
Sinhala figure of speech: පින් ඇති දාට ගොනත් වදනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: On a iucky day even bulls are said to bring forth.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගොනා වණ ගින්නේ, කවුඩා මස් ගින්නේ  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The bull’s pain is that of his wound, the orow’s that of fleshhunger.
Meaning: Men of mean minds endeavour to take advantage of others' misfortunes for their own benefit
Context:  This was said at sight of a crow pecking at a wound on a bull’s back
Sinhala figure of speech: වරුවක් හාන වම දකුණ මොටද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Why worry about the right and left of a bull that ploughs only half a day ?
Meaning: The laggard deserves no special consideration
Sinhala figure of speech: පඳුර ළඟට මා එනවා විනාවේ                                                                       පඳුර මා ළඟට එනවා හිනා වේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Tis meet I should approach the bush, you see.                                                    What nonsense that the bush should come to me